And when Loverboy took center stage Thursday night at the Stampede, Maynerds was standing on the folding chairs, set up in the Island Grove Regional Park Arena, banging his head and motioning his hands as if he were playing a guitar.

More than 6,000 people attended the concert that featured Loverboy and Journey.

“I can’t wait to see ’em. They’ll never die,” Maynerds said about Journey, pumping his fist in the air.

If the diverse crowd is any

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indication of the band’s following, Maynerds might be right. Journey may be around for at least another 20 years.

There were the classic-rocker types, like Maynerds. But the arena was filled with cowboys wearing silver buckles and boots, teens in tank tops, expecting mothers and children.

Jenna Andrews, 17, of Windsor, was turned on to the classic rock band by her father who used to blare the music in their garage. She said a lot of her friends listen to the band.

It’s the combination of the lyrics and the beat that attract her. And if her mother didn’t win free tickets at work, Andrews said she would have paid to see Journey play.

Theresa Wingorni, 40, who drove down from Cheyenne, saw the band live 20 years ago. She’s been a fan since Steve Perry was the lead vocalist.

The new music just doesn’t appeal to Dana Hiatt, 44, of Loveland.

“You cling to the stuff that made you feel good,” she said.

New rock bands will never have the same following or sustain themselves as Journey has been able to do, Javier Acosta of Thornton said.

New bands try too hard, he said.

“There’s something different about the ’80s. The ’80s set the standard,” Acosta, 33, said.

Journey has a special crowd with dedicated, fans but Loverboy is great, too, Maynerds said, steadily pumping his head to the band’s beats. A group of women standing nearby whisper, “Look. It’s a real rocker.”

Then the women join Maynerds and the crowd of Journey fans who transcend ages and lifestyles to enjoy the music, at least for a little while.